


Surprise! (Or: Why everyone needs to remember that droids do not understand all human customs)

by heartinhand221 (Illusinia)



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Force Bond (Star Wars), M/M, Poor Rey, and Rey is not explaining it, droids don't understand sex, everyone needs to learn to knock, getting caught, it is not her job, secret relationships get revealed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-12
Updated: 2018-06-12
Packaged: 2019-05-21 08:03:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,640
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14911533
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Illusinia/pseuds/heartinhand221
Summary: BB-8’s rapid, worried beeping drew her back to the droid again. It's beeping had slowed down at this point and Rey could finally understand him. He thought Ben was attacking Poe. Kriff, she was going to have to explain gay sex to a droid.“Um, BB, I think you have it wrong,” began Rey as gently as she could, not wanting to upset the droid further. “Ben and Poe aren’t fighting, they-”BB-8 let out another series of disgruntled beep and whistles, refuting her claim. She nearly groaned. Why didn’t Poe just kick BB-8 out before they started this time? Kriff, she was going to kill them for putting her in this position.“I know what you saw, BB, but sometimes things aren't always what they look like,” tried Rey hopefully, punching the bridge of her nose. Fuck Ben and Poe and their libidos. They were going to owe her big for this. Big.-------------Poe and Ben have sex, BB-8 misunderstands, Rey really hates the force bond sometimes, and everyone else might be a little scarred for life. Because nothing can be normal where these guys are concerned.





	Surprise! (Or: Why everyone needs to remember that droids do not understand all human customs)

**Author's Note:**

> A special thanks to @AGirlFromJakku over on Twitter who was nice enough to beta this for me. Any mistakes remaining are mine, possibly from me trying to edit it. 
> 
> Also, I apologize for disabling the anonymous commenting and locking this piece, but there's been so much hate floating around most of the social media pages (namely Twitter and Tumblr) that I feel more comfortable posting this in private. I might change this later after things die down, but I'm not sure. I'll evalute it later.

The knock at the door wasn't a surprise. If anything, it was expected. After all, Ben had been coming to Poe’s room almost every night for weeks. He was earlier than normal, but Poe wasn’t going to complain. BB-8 was charging and he didn’t have any plans for the evening. Not that he really made plans anymore; not since Ben came back. It had been nearly a month since he was released from the hospital and he’d completed all of the required physical therapy and other medical treatments to regain full mobility of his body.

 

He was completely healed and Ben had been happy to confirm that every night since he was cleared, sometimes more than once. And Poe loved it.

 

Reaching his door, he flicked it open and grinned at the tall man on the other side. Ben stood in the hallway in a tight grey t-shirt and black training pants as if he were going to the gym. Well, they had been getting in a good workout…

 

“Your mind is really dirty,” remarked Ben as he stepped into the room, his hand brushing Poe’s lightly as he did.

 

Poe grinned at the contact, grabbing Ben’s hand briefly and squeezing. “What? I can’t help if you’re easy to fantasize about.”

 

“And I can hear your fantasies,” countered Ben, reaching passed Poe to shut the door. As soon as it was shut, Ben pressed him up against the surface, his hands falling to slide along Poe’s legs. “I can hear them all day and it makes it really, really hard when I’m stuck with those doctors. Or when I’m with my mother. I don’t need to be thinking about you on your knees sucking me off when my mother is sitting across from me.”

 

Biting his lip, Poe leaned forward and pressed his face against Ben’s shoulder in an attempt to keep from laughing. It shouldn’t be funny, but it really, really was. “Then maybe you should stay out of my head when you’re supposed to be talking to your mother.”

 

“It’s kind of hard when I can practically hear you mentally screaming my name,” growled Ben, pinning Poe’s hips to the door with his own. Poe let out a shaky breath as he felt Ben’s very hard cock pressing up into his hips. Oh, it was going to be one of _those_ nights.

 

“That was once,” moaned Poe, pressing his hips back against Ben’s in a slow grind. He remembered the incident well. Ben had left him on the edge and nearly panting to go meet with his mother. And he knew for a damn fact that Ben was probably fantasizing through the meeting regardless; he’d been just as much of a mess as Poe. “And I wouldn’t have been jacking off in the middle of the day if you hadn’t been teasing me.”

 

Growling, Ben grabbed Poe’s ass through his pants and hoisted him up, pinning him between his body and the door. “I warned you I had a meeting. You were the one who kissed me.”

 

“Your lips are very kissable,” countered Poe, grinning as he leaned down to peck Ben on the lips. “They’re very full. And I kissed you once. You were the one who pushed your tongue in my mouth.”

 

“I have impulse control problems,” murmured Ben, leaning forward and nipping Poe’s bottom lip. “The doctor’s said so.”

 

Wrapping his legs around Ben’s lower back, he dragged Ben’s hips flush with his and began to squirm, rubbing himself against Ben’s already hard cock. Oh, he knew Ben had some impulse control issues, and he loved them. “I don’t mind your impulse control issues.”

 

Ben growled at that, pressing his lips to Poe’s neck and biting him hard enough to leave a mark. The moan it tore out of Poe just seemed to drive Ben further. Roughly, he squeezed and slightly parted Poe’s cheeks through his pants, rubbing along the inner edge towards his hole. “I noticed you didn’t complain when I took you against that wall in the Falcon.”

 

“No, that was Rey,” agreed Poe, recalling the angry look the young woman had thrown at them when she walked into the hall. She hadn’t been the least bit embarrassed by what she’d walked into the aftermath of; she’d just stood there, hands on her hips, and informed them that they had better clean the wall because she wasn’t doing it.

 

“She was only mad about the potential mess,” dismissed Ben as he bit and sucked his way up Poe’s neck. One of his fingers shifted to directly press against Poe’s hole and his hips arched up immediately in response. “Fuck Ben…”

 

“That’s what I’m planning to do,” assured Ben against Poe’s ear before he suddenly stepped back, taking Poe with him.

 

Immediately, Poe’s arms went around Ben’s shoulders, only half surprised by the sudden move. His elbows locked over Ben’s shoulders, his hands finding purchase in Ben’s hair as they moved towards his bed. Smirking, he bent his head and licked the side of Ben’s throat, knowing what it did to the other man. Sure enough, Ben let out a high pitched noise before Poe suddenly found himself on his back on the bed, Ben looming over him as he dragged off his shirt.

 

The sight of Ben, shirtless, standing at the base of his bed would never get old. Fuck no. After nine years of not having Ben around, Poe knew for a damn fact that he would never, ever get bored of this sight. The fact that Ben had clearly been working out in his absence only helped matters. He’d been fit before, but now he was completely ripped and Poe wanted to lick him from head to toe.

 

“You did that before I left,” remarked Ben, leaning over as he crawled onto the bed.

 

Poe was a bit disappointed Ben didn’t lose the pants too, but he could live with that for now. If they wanted to take more than ten minutes, which they always did, it was probably better if Ben didn’t completely strip yet.

 

“You’re more ripped now, you can’t expect me not to want to lick and bite you,” growled Poe, dragging Ben down for a proper kiss. That silenced any conversation for a few minutes, their lips and tongues slipping against each other as their hands dragged over skin. Ben rucked up his shirt to trace the muscles of his chest and stomach, to Poe’s chagrin. He’d gotten somewhat soft in the last month, mostly from being stuck on bed rest as he recovered.

 

As if sensing his thoughts, Ben pulled back from his lips and met Poe’s eyes before leaning down to lick a line down his chest and stomach. Poe arched on the bed, his hands sliding up into Ben’s hair in surprise. “Ben!”

 

“Hm?” hummed Ben, his lips pressed to the skin just above Poe’s pants.

 

“Damnit!” moaned Poe, his hips shifting up into the vibration of Ben’s lips. “You’re a fucking tease!”

 

“Says the man who taunted me into having sex in the gym,” murmured Ben against Poe’s waist band, his fingers flicking open the button on his pants. “And wanted to-”

 

The rest of Ben’s sentence was drowned out by a series of rapid beeps and the sound of BB-8 rolling quickly across the room. A second later, the bed shook as the little droid crashed into it, beeping frantically. Poe’s mind was too addled by his hormones currently to really understand what the droid was complaining about and Ben didn’t seem any more aware with the way he just blinked at BB like it was a foreign object.

 

After a moment though, Ben shrugged as if the droid were nothing and returned to kissing along the waistband of Poe’s pants, which promptly distracted him from BB-8. Particularly when Ben’s tongue began to trace the waistband of his pants. How Ben got it to actually slip beneath the edge of his waistband he wasn’t sure, but he didn’t really care when the thick muscle skimmed over the head of his cock where it was trapped in his pants. Fuck, fuck, fuck. How did he do that?

 

“Ben,” groaned Poe, tugging at his hair to get his attention. “Ben, please.”

 

“Please what?” asked Ben as he suddenly surged up, pinning Poe’s arms above his head. Poe whimpered, thrusting his hips upward towards Ben’s where they were hovering over his.

 

A shrill beep from BB cut him off again before he could verbalize his thoughts though, letting the images rise to his mind as he turned towards his droid. He wasn’t sure what BB-8’s issue was and he wasn’t thinking well enough to figure it out, either. And as much as he loved his droid, fucking his boyfriend in front of said droid was just weird. He needed to distract the droid and get it out of the room.

 

“BB, go find Rey to help-” His words were cut off as Ben suddenly bit his shoulder. He cried out in pleasure, his hips arching up and grinding against Ben’s. Fucker. An image of Ben kneeling at the bottom of the bed and sucking  his cock came to mind and he just knew Ben had put it there. Kriff. He needed to get BB out of there now, before they traumatized the little droid. “Go find Rey. Now.”

 

The droid beeped out something urgently, then Poe heard him roll across and out the room. Which really was  perfect because as soon as the door hissed shut, Ben dragged the zipper on his pants down and fisted his cock…

 

\----------------------

 

Rapid beeping was the only warning that Rey got before she was nearly run down by a very upset BB-8. As it was, she barely caught the droid, who was beeping frantically. So frantically she couldn’t understand him.

 

“BB, stop, calm down,” insisted Rey, kneeling down in an attempt to sooth the small droid. BB-8 wasn’t in the mood to be calmed though and just continued to beep at her frantically. She managed to catch the patterns for Poe and Ben though, along with attacked. Immediately, her mind went to the worst and she reached out through the force bond to check on Ben.

 

Which was a very bad move on her part.

 

The force bond had definitely lead to a few uncomfortable moments. Things like her inadvertently picking up on his thoughts of Poe as he masterbated while the other man was still in recovery for example. Or the time she found herself in the middle of a sex dream where she was in Ben's body plowing Poe. That was probably the weirdest one. She still couldn’t get the image of Ben’s dick attached to his/her body out of her head. Or how young Poe had been. How young Ben had probably been.

 

This time wasn't much better. She didn't delve deep into Ben's mind, just very lightly touched his thoughts to check that he was okay, that Poe was okay. What she found instead were fantasies of Poe tied to a bed and blindfolded as Ben sucked him off. She nearly groaned and reached for Poe through Ben, just to make sure that wasn't some dream potentially brought on by unconsciousness. But the overwhelming wave of arousal and want that hit her as soon as she touched Poe through the force just reinforced that they were indeed having sex.

 

Pulling back, Rey had to take a few deep breaths to try and minimize her own reaction to his emotions. There were definitely some downsides to a force bond, one of which  was the emotional exchange that could occur. She was pretty sure she has never been this constantly aroused in her life and she blamed them.

 

BB-8’s rapid, worried beeping drew her back to the droid again. It's beeping had slowed down at this point and Rey could finally understand him. He thought Ben was attacking Poe. Kriff, she was going to have to explain gay sex to a droid.

 

“Um, BB, I think you have it wrong,” began Rey as gently as she could, not wanting to upset the droid further. “Ben and Poe aren’t fighting, they-”

 

BB-8 let out another series of disgruntled beep and whistles, refuting her claim. She nearly groaned. Why didn’t Poe just kick BB-8 out before they started this time? Kriff, she was going to kill them for putting her in this position.

 

“I know what you saw, BB, but sometimes things aren't always what they look like,” tried Rey hopefully, punching the bridge of her nose. Fuck Ben and Poe and their libidos. They were going to owe her big for this. Big. “They weren't fighting BB. You see, Poe-”

 

“Hey Rey, there you are!” Finn’s voice cut her off and Rey nearly screamed. "I've been looking for you- uh, is BB-8 okay? He sounds really upset."

 

No. No, no, no. She was not explaining this in front of Finn. For one thing, it violated both Poe and Ben's privacy. For another, she didn't want to field any questions about how gay sex worked to Finn. As it was, she only knew as much as she did because of the force bond combined with Poe and Ben’s insatiable sex drives. Then again, they'd been separated for nine years. It wasn't really a surprise that they were all over each other.

 

Her thoughts abruptly returned to the discussion at hand as BB-8 began beeping frantically beside her and rolling back and forth against her hands. Rey had to stop herself from groaning for a second time. At least Finn didn't understand BB-8. All he could tell was the droid was upset. If she could calm BB-8 down, then maybe she could get him to go charge and deal with Finn separately.

 

She opened her mouth to try to placate Finn, only to be interrupted by a second voice breaking it. “He's saying someone is being attacked!”

 

There weren't enough curse words in the universe to convey Rey's frustration as she realized Finn wasn't alone. Rose was with him, which shouldn't have surprised her at all in retrospect, but Rose's presence was a problem. Namely because, unlike Finn, the mechanic _could_ understand what BB-8 was beeping about. And the other woman would be a hell of a lot harder to put off. Rey really had to bite her tongue hard to keep from screaming.

 

She bolted upright, immediately scrambling for something to refute the droid’s claims as she spun towards her friends. “I think he's mistaken! You know, sometimes things aren't what they seem.”

 

Finn looked uncertain about her casual tone and Rose was already kneeling down to listen to BB-8. She gulped and continued, hoping to still persuade them that everything was fine. “I checked already, there isn’t a fight-”

 

“BB says Ren is attacking Poe!” exclaimed Rose, throwing a glare at Rey as she grabbed Finn’s arm. “We need to go save him” Then Rose was running with BB-8 in the lead, dragging Finn along.

 

Rey cursed and took off after them. Of course Rose wouldn’t listen to her, she was the most vocal opponent to Ben being free on the base. She wasn't going to listen to Rey and she knew it. Her only hope was to convince Finn that BB-8 was mistaken. “Guys, wait! I'm telling you, I checked! BB is mistaken!”

 

“Yeah right!” snapped Rose, her aggression almost palpable. Rey actually recoiled at the anger and disgust in Rose’s tone. What the hell?! That was definitely uncalled for!

 

She and Rose had definitely had their issues since Ben had shown up on the Resistance’s doorstep, surrendering and only asking to speak with her. Rose had accused her of fraternizing with the enemy and more or less called her a traitor to her face. Of course, it turned out he only wanted to speak with her because he'd felt Poe crash and knew the man was in extremely bad shape. He'd nearly demanded to know how Poe was as soon as they were alone, using the force bond to convey his words so no one overheard. Rey had been somewhat relieved he'd come because of Poe and not her. It had also explained why she had been having sex dreams about Poe where she was a man. That had been the most awkward conversation ever.

 

Right, Poe and Ben. Sex. Poe and Ben were having sex and their friends were about to go running in on them. Focus!

 

Picking up speed, she tried to reach out to Ben through the bond to warn him they were coming. But all she was met with was a wave of pleasure that sent her reeling. Fuck. She knew that feeling. It was the doubled over pleasure that meant Ben was actively in the process of fucking Poe. There was no way she would be able to get Ben's attention now; the bond between him and Poe was strong enough to overshadow her bond with him.

 

Cursing, she was half relieved when she saw a door open ahead, Leia stepping into the hall in front of the others. She could have hugged the other woman in relief. Leia would listen. Leia was reasonable…

 

“General!” shouted Rose, running towards the other woman. “General, Poe needs help!” Without pause, Rose snagged their leader’s arm and began trying to tug her towards Poe’s room. “Ren is attacking him!”

 

“No, he's not!” insisted Rey as she managed to catch up to them. “General, they're both fine. They're just, uh, talking.” Poe did tend to talk a lot during sex from what she'd seen through the bond so it was sort of true. “They're fine.”

 

“Would you stop trying to defend him and open your eyes already?” snapped Rose as she started tugging Leia down the hall. “I'm going to prove he's still bad and then you're going to see just how horrible your boyfriend is!”

 

“Wait, Ben told me that was going to spar with you in the gym, Rey,” stated Leia, glancing at Rey suspiciously. Why did he have to drag her into this by using her as his cover while he fucked Poe into oblivion. Right, because he wasn't really supposed to wander around by himself yet. But _still_ , couldn't he at least warn her that she was his cover?

 

“He asked if we could meet in an hour because he wanted to talk with Poe,” explained Rey quickly and the way Leia’s eyes narrowed at her just further conveyed the fact that she didn't believe her. Shit.

 

“And you believed him?” asked Rose as if Rey had committed some egregious sin. The urge to strike the other woman rose once more and Rey had to firmly swallow that desire. She couldn’t hit Rose, no matter how irritating the other woman was. “Your boyfriend is a psychotic killer Rey! You can't just trust him like that!”

 

Even Leia looked pressed at that one, but Rose didn't seem to notice.

 

Right. Well if she didn't stop them, then they were going to figure out real fast he wasn't her boyfriend. Not even close. That was Poe’s job. Part of her just wanted to give up and let them figure this shit out on their own. But that wouldn't be fair to Poe or Ben, and after hearing about everything that they went through when Ben fell to the dark side, seeing and feeling in person how much they loved each other, she couldn't do that to them.

 

Chasing after the others, she noted they were getting close to Poe’s quarters. A quick check confirmed this wasn't going to be one of their quicker sex sessions either. She could feel Ben's intent to move slow and tease Poe as well asPoe’s frustration and wild desire. Nope, they would not be done by the time everyone reached them. She tried to warn Ben again, but was met once more with the haze of his arousal. She wasn't going to even try to break through that again. No, she needed to get through to Leia. Leia was her only hope at this point.

 

“Leia, Ben isn't attacking anyone,” tried Rey, hoping to reason with the older woman. Hoping she would just listen. “BB-8 doesn't know what he saw. He's mistaken.”

 

“You’re just delusional and don't want to admit your boyfriend is a monster!” snapped Rose and Rey was sorely tempted to punch the other woman. She reminded herself that Rose had suffered badly at the hands of the First Order, and it helped. Slightly.

 

“I just checked through the force bond and they aren’t fighting,” countered Rey, hoping the reminder that she was bonded to Ben would be enough to make them listen to her.

 

“And how do you know he's not manipulating what you’re seeing, huh?” snapped Rose and fuck, they’re almost at the door.

 

Rey stopped trying to argue, hoping to pick up the pace and reach the door before them. Except the closer they got to Ben, the stronger the pull of the bond was and the harder she had to work to keep their thoughts out (force, she didn't need to know how Poe looked when Ben was stroking his cock while he was being fucked). It was enough to let the others reach the door before she could get ahead of them. Then Ben did something that even Rey felt, pure pleasure coursing through her. Rey stumbled a little and she heard Poe let out a series of pained curses through the door. Okay, they were not helping.

 

Rey bolted forward again, but the others were already at the door and putting in the override code. Rose was calling out to Poe and shouting obscenities at Ben, but the amount of noise the boys were making probably made it hard for them to hear. Rey scrambled for the door, but the others were quicker. They pushed into the room before she could even reach the doorframe and screamed at them to leave Poe and Ben alone.

 

She reached the doorway less than a second later, the others standing immobile in the doorway. It wasn't hard to guess why and she nearly winced at what she saw, too. Poe and Ben were both naked on the bed, Poe’s legs folded up and wrapped around Ben's upper body tightly. Ben was on top of him, body covering his as his hips pistoned into him. Their lips were connected in a messy kiss and both of Poe’s hands were buried in Ben's hair in clear desperation. No wonder she hadn't been able to rouse either of them; they were both beyond the point of reason and she felt them fall apart together a few seconds after everyone barged in.

 

No one said a word, too shocked to speak. She felt the moment Ben became aware of them, though. The panic at the moment he realized he and Poe were no longer alone hit Rey hard and with it came a swell of power from Ben. Rey didn't think as she forced her way in front of the others and threw up a counter wave of power. The wave Ben released crashed into her and she nearly flew off her feet. She might have been knocked down, if not for the counter _push_ of power she felt pressing against her back. It helped keep her up and hell, where had that come from?

 

She glanced between the two men as the wave faded, noting that Poe had pulled a blanket over himself and Ben at some point in the moment between when they'd come apart and Ben had tried to defend them. The look Poe gave her in return, the faint blush that bloomed over his cheeks, just confirmed to her that he had been the one to keep her on her feet. Well, that was unexpected.

 

“Would someone care to explain what's going on?” asked Ben, an edge to his voice that Rey recognised all too well. Quite frankly, the others deserved whatever he threw at them. She highly suspected they were in too much shock to respond though.

 

Poe looked at her curiously when no one spoke immediately, holding his hands out towards her. “Rey? What happened?”

 

“BB-8 came running to me saying you were being attacked by Ben and before I could calm him down, Rose overheard and no one would listen when I tried to explain you were fine,” summarized Rey with a sigh, walking over to Poe and squeezing his hand. “I’m sorry, I really tried to stop them without telling them what you two were doing.”

 

“It's alright Rey,” assured Ben with a sigh, rubbing a hand over his face in clear exasperation. “People were bound to find out eventually.”

 

“Hold on, Poe is fucking your boyfriend and you knew about it?” broke in Rose, horror in her tone. “What the fuck? That's not okay, Rey! No matter what these two told you.”

 

Rey really was about ready to punch Rose at that point. Poe must have seen in too, because he sat up and pulled her closer to the bed. Ben just scowled at the other woman.

 

“Rose, I suspect nothing is what we thought,” broke in Leia diplomatically, probably sensing the impending fight brewing. “Perhaps Ben and Poe would like to explain.”

 

Both men exchanged uneasy glances and the silence might have continued if BB-8 hadn't rolled into the side of the bed at that moment with a tentative beep. Clearly, the little droid had figured out he'd done something wrong, because the beep was contrite and worried.

 

Poe glanced down at his droid and sighed, patting BB on the head softly. “I know buddy, you thought I was in trouble and tried to protect me. It's half my fault though, I should have sent you to charge with Rey before Ben showed up.”

 

“You knew Ben was coming?” broke in Rose in shock. “How long have you two been doing this? And how could you do that to Rey?”

 

“Ben and I aren't together, Rose,” snapped Rey, her temper flaring as she rounded on the other girl. She felt Poe grip her hand tighter, holding her back even as an arm curled around her and pulled her to sit on the bed between the two men.

 

Finn made a face as she sat down, glancing once more between Poe and Ben. Apparently Poe saw it too, because he spoke up before Finn could ask anything really awkward. “Rey pretty much knows everything about our sex life at this point, Finn. Sitting on the bed with us naked is the least awkward thing she's experienced.”

 

“Definitely the least awkward thing,” agreed Rey with a sigh, shaking her head.

 

The former stormtrooper’s brow furrowed further in confusion. “What do you mean? What could be more awkward?”

 

“Having someone else's sex dreams,” cited Rey, cringing a little at that memory. “Experiencing sex you aren't actually having. Those two top the list, I think.”

 

Poe chuckled a little, reaching over and hugging her with one arm. “Sorry about that Rey.”

 

She snorted a little, leaning back into him as Poe’s force energy curled against her. “The downside to a force bond. It could be worse.”

 

“So, wait, did Ben come here for you or not?” asked Finn, rubbing his forehead like it hurt.

 

“And how long have you known about Poe and Ben fucking each other?” added Rose with a betrayed glare at Poe.

 

Rey felt Poe wince through the force and she half wished she hadn't protected Rose earlier when Ben had attacked them. The technician had no right to make Poe feel guilty for taking Ben back. Apparently Ben felt it too, because she could feel the anger that surged up in him. She needed to divert Rose’s ire before Ben hurt her.

 

“I've known for nearly 4 months,” spoke up Rey calmly, watching as Finn, Rose, and Leia turned to her in surprise. Rey blinked back at them blandly, as if it wasn't weird to have known the two men behind her had wanted each other months before they had the chance to come back together. “The force bond makes it hard for Ben and I to keep secrets. When I started having sex dreams about Poe and I barely knew him, it was kind of a clue they weren't my dreams. The fact I wasn't in my body and said body was male further confirmed that.”

 

“But if Ben came back for Poe, why now?” asked Leia, glancing at her son. “Why come back now and not years ago when he joined the Resistance?”

 

Rey felt Poe and Ben tense behind her and turned to look back at the two men. They were both staring at the bed, their fingers intertwined behind her and resting on the sheets. This was the question they were both afraid to answer. And why shouldn't they be? They had been keeping this secret for years. Revealing it when they'd just be caught having sex probably wasn't ideal, either. At least it would be out though and they could finally stop hiding.

 

“Ben?” prompted Leia gently, stepping closer to them.

 

Ben gulped a little, drawing Poe’s fingers to his lips to gently kiss them. There was a look of finality in their eyes, like two people about to jump off a cliff, and it scared her. Was this really such a big deal? She and Ben had a force bond and by extension she had one with Poe as well. It couldn't matter that much. But when she glanced back at Leia and noted the way way the other woman was staring at them suspiciously, she wondered if the boys didn't have a good reason to be afraid.

 

“I came back because I felt Poe get hurt,” stated Ben softly, his eyes locking with Poe's. There was so much love and adoration in the former Sith's eyes, it was hard to believe for a second that the two had been enemies. Honestly, Rey sincerely doubted they ever had been truly enemies. “He was in so much pain that I was terrified for him. Terrified he wasn't going to survive. And I couldn't-I couldn't stand the thought of losing Poe.” She felt the wave of distress flow off Ben, as if he were reliving the moment. He'd told her that he'd fallen to his knees when it happened. It had felt like his chest was being crushed, like he couldn't breathe. “So I came back and I demanded to speak with Rey because I knew she'd tell me how he was. If I needed to be as terrified as I was.” She watched Poe's throat bob, tears pushing at the edges of his eyes as if Ben's fear were just as palpable to him as it was to Rey. Idly, she realised it probably was.

 

“He told me he was coming,” added Rey, meeting Leia's gaze. “He told me he felt Poe crash. He was frantic. I didn't dissuade him.”

 

“I can’t imagine he could have been dissuaded,” remarked Leia quietly, her frown deepening. “What I don’t understand is how Ben could have felt you crash, Poe.”

 

Leia’s eyes were locked on the pilot this time and Rey felt Ben’s immediate, protective instinct shoot up. The other man shifted closer to his lover, Ben’s arms wrapping around Poe as he pulled the pilot behind Rey. Poe let out an ‘oomph’ but otherwise didn’t resist. She felt him move closer to Ben instead, the action seeming to sooth Ben a little more.

 

The room was silent for a long moment, but Rey could hear the conversation passing between the two men behind her. The beauty of her force bond with Ben: she could interact with Poe through that bond as well. It also meant that she could hear every conversation the two of them had, including the private ones. Like now, as Poe worked to keep Ben calm and Ben countered with reassurances towards Poe that no one would take him away. Their dynamic was honestly fascinating. They stood together with ease, despite their very different personalities and it worked.

 

“Ben, Poe, you need to explain this,” stated Leia, her brow furrowed further as her gaze moved to Ben. “How did you know Poe had been injured?”

 

“I felt it,” repeated Ben softly, a scowl breaking across his face as he tried to keep his anger in check.

 

Immediately, Poe curled around him, drawing Ben as close as he could behind Rey. She turned towards them both, offering Poe her hand silently on in support. He needed to know he was safe, that she'd help Ben keep him safe no matter what.

 

“Felt it how, Ben?” asked Leia, her voice calm and coaxing. Her voice insisted on an answer, but her face said she already knew. She was just confirming she was correct.

 

Ben sighed quietly behind her, but it was Poe that spoke. “He felt it through the force. Through a bond. A force bond.”

 

“A very old force bond,” added Ben, as if that somehow meant something to anyone there. It took Rey a moment to realize he was saying that for Poe’s benefit, so no one thought he had been conspiring with Ben while he'd been with the First Order.

 

“How old?” asked Finn, his eyes wide as he stared at Poe in shock and awe.

 

Poe rubbed his neck his eyes falling to the ground. “Old. Emphasis on old. Decades old.”

 

“Decades,” repeated Leia, an edge to her voice as her eyes narrowed on Poe. “And how, exactly, could you two have a decades old bond?”

 

“It formed when we were kids,” broke in Ben as he shifted suddenly to sit in front of Poe like a shield. “It wasn't anything inappropriate.”

 

“Ben,” murmured Poe, his hand coming up to cover Ben's shoulder. He shifted forward then, out from behind Ben, pulling the sheet along with him. It only came half off the bed, but he managed to get enough free that when he stood up, the room didn’t get an eye-full. Which was probably good because Rose and Finn already looked uneasy. “Look, Leia, General, it’s not what you think. Ben and I didn’t start dating until we were teenagers. The bond formed before that. Way before that.” Rey felt uncertainty building in Poe, but he kept his shoulders back and his head high anyway. “When we were kids, we realized I was force sensitive. Ben helped me learn enough to keep from accidentally tapping into it and hurting someone. The bond formed because of that.”

 

Silence enveloped the room, Poe’s words being met with wide eyes and weary stares from everyone except Leia. Her head tilted slightly to the side and her lips pursed slightly, but she otherwise didn’t appear upset. She didn’t even look phased. “I'm guessing you figured this out around when your mom died.”

 

“A year before, actually,” corrected Poe, grimacing a little. “It took Ben that long to convince me to go train with Luke. Then mom got sick before I could tell my parents and when she died, I couldn't leave my dad.”

 

“No, you couldn't,” agreed Leia with a knowing nod. “Kes didn't take her death well. Losing you might have killed him.”

 

“It would have,” confirmed Poe softly, his lips thinning. “But I couldn't just keep going without doing anything. I- I got mad after her funeral and broke something with the force. It wasn't bad, not like what happened when Ben got mad, but I still couldn't ignore it after that, either.”

 

“But he didn't want to go train with Luke either,” spoke up Ben quietly, reaching out around Rey to grab Poe's hand.

 

Poe squeezed his hand back, nodding slowly. “So Ben started teaching me what he knew and it helped a lot, but it also bought us closer together and we think that's why a bond formed. I didn't know how to explain stuff, so I shared the feelings with Ben and he shared his back.”

 

“Honestly, I'm not sure how bonds form,” stated Leia calmly, her head tilting to the side a little. “Luke would have been the only one who would have known.” Her lips pursed a little, glancing at Ben curiously. “Did you tell him about this?”

 

“Not directly,” replied Ben as he finally shifted forward, grabbing a pillow to cover himself with so he could stand up next to Poe. “I tried to ask about them, but Luke just said they were an attachment and something that wouldn't happen easily. I couldn't exactly tell him about Poe. We didn't want Kes to know Poe was force sensitive.”

 

“He might have tried to send me to Luke, even though it would have hurt him to let me go,” explained Poe, their words taking on that strange pattern she'd noticed sometimes happened. It was like they were speaking in unison, one starting a thought and the other finishing it. Completely in sync with what they were saying. “And we weren't sure how Luke would react to us having a force bond. We liked-” He stopped there, glancing at Kylo as if he were asking him a question. Rey could feel that he was.

 

“We like being bound together,” explained Ben softly, his eyes meeting Poe's again. “We enjoy being aware of each other. It's a constant presence, like a friend that won't abandon you. We didn't want Luke to take that away.”

 

“It actually hurt when you did whatever you did to force the bond dormant,” remarked Poe quietly, his eyes still locked on Ben.

 

“I know,” assured Ben, and Rey could feel their attention shifting to one another, that strange force energy that seemed to surround them swirling up. She could tell Leia felt it too, because she gently and wordlessly grabbed both Finn and Rose by the shoulders, shuffling them out of the room. Rey slipped off the bed as well, fully intending to leave them to their alone time. Poe and Ben had lost a lot of time together because of Snoke and she didn't intend to intrude further.

 

She paused only long enough to shuffle BB-8 out as well, making sure this time the boys really would have complete privacy. The little droid didn't even so much as beep as it rolled out of the room, apparently sensing it was time to leave the men alone.

 

As soon as the door shut, Rey found the other three starting at her. Finn and Rose both looked hurt but Leia's expression was nothing but understanding. Which was a relief, Rey realized. She'd expected Leia to be upset that she'd kept a secret like this, but the older woman looked anything but.

 

Stepping up to Rey, Leia squeezed her shoulder softly, offering her a warm smile. “Thank you, Rey. For protecting Poe and Ben. I wish they'd felt like they could tell me before now, but at least they have a friend who can protect them.” Releasing Rey, Leia turned to Rose and Finn and motioned for them to head down the hall. “Enough loitering. I'm sure you two had plans tonight, so get back to them.”

 

Rose opened her mouth, presumably to object, but Finn grabbed her hand and pulled her away. As soon as it was just her and BB-8, Rey let out a heavy sigh and started down the hallway towards her own quarters. At least the night hadn't ended in complete disaster.

 

Then BB-8 beeped beside her and she let out a groan. “I think you need to ask Poe about that BB-8. Tomorrow, when he and Ben aren't busy.”

 

She was not going to explain sex to a droid, especially not Poe's droid. He could handle that part.

 


End file.
